California State Legislature, 2023–24 session

2023–2024 session of the
California State Legislature
2023–2024 session of the; California State Legislature
←	2021–2022
	The Seal of California
Overview
Legislative body	California State Legislature
Jurisdiction	California
Term	December 5, 2022 –
Senate
Members	40
President of the Senate	Eleni Kounalakis (D); Jan. 7, 2019 – present
President pro tempore	Toni Atkins (D–39th); Mar. 21, 2018 – Feb. 5, 2024; Mike McGuire (D–2nd); Feb. 5, 2024 – present;
Minority Leader	Brian Jones (R–16th); Dec. 5, 2022 – present
Party control	Democratic
Assembly
Members	80
Speaker	Anthony Rendon (D–62nd); Mar. 7, 2016 – Jun. 30, 2023; Robert A. Rivas (D–29th); Jun. 30, 2023 – present;
Minority Leader	James Gallagher (R–3rd); Feb. 8, 2022 – present
Party control	Democratic

The 2023–2024 session is the current session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 7, 2022.^[1]

Major events

Leadership changes

June 30, 2023: Democratic assemblymember Robert A. Rivas (29th–Hollister) replaces assemblymember Anthony Rendon (62nd–Lakewood) as speaker of the Assembly, as Rendon is termed out at the end of the session.^[2]
February 5, 2024:
- Democratic senator Mike McGuire (2nd–Healdsburg) replaces senator Toni Atkins (39th–San Diego) as president pro tempore of the Senate.
- Democratic senator Lena Gonzalez (33rd–Long Beach) replaces senator McGuire as Senate majority leader.

Legislation

The following bills were signed or vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2023 or 2024.^[3]

Signed

SB4 - streamlines affordable housing on lands owned by faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education
AB418 - California Food Safety Act, prohibits red dye 3, propylparaben, brominated vegetable oil and potassium bromate from all foods meant for human consumption
SB261 - requires large companies to biennially report their financial risks from climate change
SB253 - U.S. corporations earning more than $1 billion and doing business in California must annually report their global emissions of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases
SB385 - allow trained physician assistants to conduct surgical abortions without direct supervision by a physician
SB487 - prohibit health insurers and the state from penalizing medical providers who have been sanctioned in other states for performing procedures that are otherwise legal in California, including abortion and gender-affirming care
AB1228 - raises the minimum wage for workers to $20 an hour next April, and creates a Fast Food Council composed of industry, worker, and government representatives to set minimum wage, safety, and employment and training standards for workers in large fast food chains and their franchises
AB969 - would limit the use of hand counting of ballots in most elections
SB616 - increases the number of paid sick days employers must provide to workers from three to five
AB1373 - would authorize the state Department of Water Resources the authority to procure clean power when needed under the state Public Utilities Commission, particularly from offshore wind, geothermal and long duration storage
AB1 - would allow state legislative staff to unionize beginning in 2026
SB497 - would require state courts and the state Labor Commission to assume employers are illegally retaliating if they take certain disciplinary actions against a worker who in the prior 90 days has made a wage claim or a complaint about unequal pay.
AB12 - limits the amount that landlords can require in security deposits to one month’s rent, rather than the previous two months’ rent
AB1418 - would prohibit counties and cities from requiring landlords to evict people when a household member is a convicted felon
SB389 - authorize the State Water Board to investigate and seek verification of all water rights claims regarding California's water bodies, no matter how old
SB43 - expands the legal definition of “gravely disabled” to make it easier to place someone into involuntary treatment

Vetoed

AB957 - would require judges to consider a parent’s affirmation of their child’s gender identity in custody disputes
SB403 - would add caste as a form of prohibited ancestry discrimination
SB799 - workers who have been on strike for at least two weeks could receive funds
AB469 - would create a state-funded, governor-appointed ombudsperson’s office to review state agencies’ denials of public records requests
SB58 - would decriminalize certain psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin and psilocin, mescaline (except peyote) and DMT

State Senate

↓
32	8
Democratic	Republican

Officers

Position		Name	Party	District
	Lieutenant Governor	Eleni Kounalakis	Democratic
	President pro tempore	Mike McGuire	Democratic	2nd–Healdsburg
	Majority leader	Lena Gonzalez	Democratic	33rd-Long Beach
	Assistant majority leader	Angelique Ashby	Democratic	8th-Sacramento
	Assistant majority leader	Aisha Wahab	Democratic	10th-Hayward
	Democratic Caucus Chair	Monique Limón	Democratic	19th–Santa Barbara
	Majority whip	Dave Cortese	Democratic	15th–Los Gatos
	Assistant majority whips	Maria Elena Durazo	Democratic	24th–Los Angeles
	Assistant majority whips	Steve Padilla	Democratic	18th–Chula Vista
	Minority leader	Brian Jones	Republican	40th–Santee
Secretary		Erika Contreras
Sergeant-at-Arms		Katrina Rodriguez
Chaplain		Sister Michelle Gorman, RSM

The Secretary, the Sergeant-at-Arms, and the chaplain are not members of the Legislature.

Members

	Name	Party	Residence	Term-limited?	Notes
1	Brian Dahle	Republican	Bieber	Yes
2	Mike McGuire	Democratic	Healdsburg		Majority leader until February 5, 2024; president pro tempore since February 5, 2024
3	Bill Dodd	Democratic	Napa	Yes
4	Marie Alvarado-Gil	Democratic	Jackson
5	Susan Eggman	Democratic	Stockton	Yes
6	Roger Niello	Republican	Fair Oaks
7	Steve Glazer	Democratic	Orinda	Yes
8	Angelique Ashby	Democratic	Sacramento
8	Nancy Skinner	Democratic	Berkeley	Yes
10	Aisha Wahab	Democratic	Hayward
11	Scott Wiener	Democratic	San Francisco
12	Shannon Grove	Republican	Bakersfield
13	Josh Becker	Democratic	Menlo Park
14	Anna Caballero	Democratic	Merced
15	Dave Cortese	Democratic	San Jose
16	Melissa Hurtado	Democratic	Bakersfield
17	John Laird	Democratic	Santa Cruz
18	Steve Padilla	Democratic	Chula Vista
19	Monique Limón	Democratic	Santa Barbara
20	Caroline Menjivar	Democratic	Los Angeles
21	Scott Wilk	Republican	Santa Clarita	Yes
22	Susan Rubio	Democratic	Baldwin Park
23	Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh	Republican	Yucaipa
24	Ben Allen	Democratic	Santa Monica
25	Anthony Portantino	Democratic	Burbank	Yes
26	María Elena Durazo	Democratic	Los Angeles
27	Henry Stern	Democratic	Malibu
28	Lola Smallwood-Cuevas	Democratic	Los Angeles
29	Josh Newman	Democratic	Fullerton
30	Bob Archuleta	Democratic	Pico Rivera
31	Richard Roth	Democratic	Riverside	Yes
32	Kelly Seyarto	Republican	Murrieta
33	Lena Gonzalez	Democratic	Long Beach		Majority leader since February 5, 2024
34	Tom Umberg	Democratic	Santa Ana
35	Steven Bradford	Democratic	Gardena	Yes
36	Janet Nguyen	Republican	Huntington Beach
37	Dave Min	Democratic	Irvine
38	Catherine Blakespear	Democratic	Encinitas
39	Toni Atkins	Democratic	San Diego	Yes	President pro tempore until February 5, 2024
40	Brian Jones	Republican	Santee		Minority leader